Miami, Florida — Miami federal prosecutors have charged the owner of a South Florida federally licensed gun shop, along with another of the shop’s operators, with various federal firearms crimes relating to illegal cash sales of unregistered machine guns, silencers, and other devices.
Defendant Manuel Reguiera, 50, owns Miami Gun Shops, Inc, a federally licensed firearms store, and operates it with Defendant Anderson Rabel, 38. According to the criminal complaint affidavit, on different dates from November 2021 to January 2022, defendants stored, sold and, in some cases, assembled fully automatic short-barreled rifles, AR-style pistols, and silencers. None of the rifles, pistols, or silencers had serial numbers, the weapons were all sold for cash, and code words were used when speaking about the illegal firearms over the telephone, says the affidavit. It is alleged that in connection with these weapons sales, Reguiera and Rabel failed to complete federally required paperwork, failed to initiate background checks on the buyer, and even failed to check the buyer’s identification, all of which federal law requires.
The criminal complaint affidavit also alleges that Reguiera sold “switch” devices. When installed, a switch allows a firearm to expel more than one bullet by a single pull of the trigger, turning the weapon into a fully automatic machine gun.
Reguiera and Rabel made their initial federal court appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid, who sits in Miami. Reguiera and Rabel are each charged with possession of an unregistered firearm; unlawful transfer of a firearm; and conspiring to do the following: possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful transfer of a firearm, failure to keep proper records as required by federal laws, and failure to conduct required background checks. They each face up to ten years’ imprisonment, if convicted.
DOJ
